Fatal tractor-trailer crash snarls Va. traffic

WASHINGTON – Officials have released the identity of a truck driver who was killed early Wednesday morning in a fiery crash.

Edwin H. Hall, 59, was driving a tractor-trailer carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline that overturned near the ramp of the Fairfax County Parkway and Interstate 95, killing him and sparking a fire that crossed the pavement and lit up the adjacent woods.

Hall died at the scene, officials say.

Deputy Chief Chuck Ryan, of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, says responders were called to the Newington area about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday and found the truck lying on its side, fully engulfed in flames.

The accident ruptured the truck’s tanks causing the protracted fire, says Sgt. C.W. Davis with the Virginia State Police. The fire burned off most of the gasoline, but left significant damage to the pavement.

There were major traffic delays on northbound I-95 for most of the morning.

“A roadway is actually built of petroleum products, so it’s going to burn just as the gasoline does,” says Davis. “As soon as someone starts running over it, especially heavy trucks or a lot of traffic, it starts breaking that up.”

It took firefighters close to an hour to put out the fire caused by the accident. Exits 166A and 166B on I-95 to the Fairfax County Parkway were blocked. The ramps from the parkway to both I-95 northbound and southbound also were closed.

“That all has to be repaired before we can let any major amount of traffic go over it,” Davis says.

All lanes and ramps are now open.

WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report. Follow WTOP Traffic and Neal on Twitter for updates.